I've finished this book a few days ago, forgetting to write a review immediately and now I have a problem, because this story was so forgettable that I'm really not sure what it was about.
Oh yes, garden, grief, dramatic main character, bad characters, good characters that were completely overdone in their goodness, characters with terrible backgrounds getting second chance after second chance... Predictability, predictability, predictability. Wordy, wordy, wordy. "dangerous"Never ending descriptions of plants. Adding some "dangerous" subplot... Urgh.

Well, yes, as you can guess I am not a fan of this story. It didn't wow me, it bored me. Which is a shame, because Sharon Gosling's previous books were really great.

This was a beautiful story, uplifting and full of kindness and hope. The story was so well written and described so beautifully that it transports you into a world of poverty and struggle. I loved this one. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

A story about new beginning, second chances and gardens. I loved it and thoroughly enjoyed this uplifting story.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

Luisa’s life hasn’t been the same since she lost her husband over a decade ago.

She receives a telephone call regarding a run-down piece of land and making it into a garden for the local community in an area of the Lake District, she decides to take a risk and do it.

She meets Cas, he’s a teacher who runs a boxing gym, for the teenagers in the area, Harper, who Luísa also meets there, is trying to keep herself out of trouble.

Luisa faces objections from those that live there, but, continues in building the garden, in the hope that they’ll change their opinions.

Slowly, the area is starting to transform into a garden, and she’ feels like it’s time to love again, her journey throughout the story keeps you turning the page, hoping she’ll finally move forward from the hurt she faced previously.

I recommend this book.

This is the first novel that I have read by Ms. Gosling. After finishing it, I feel motivated to find and purchase all of her earlier titles.

This book will be enjoyed by those who like women’s fiction and the many who enjoy a good story with sympathetic characters. An additional plus in these pages is thinking about gardens and what they mean to both their creators and those who get to enjoy them.

As the story opens, it is fair to say that Luisa is stuck and not using her talents and imagination fully. She has reason to be despondent and stuck having lost her husband. Readers will hope that she moves forward as she considers a new opportunity.

In addition to following Luisa’s story, readers will get to know others. These include an altruistic man who operates a boxing gym and the young girl who is in his orbit. Their stories come to life along with Luisa’s.

It is very easy to recommend this warm and emotional title. Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster UK for this title. All opinions are my own.

Since the death of her husband Luisa has simply existed. When an opportunity from the godfather of her husband comes Luísa’s way she finds that she may still have the strength in her to fulfil her and her late husbands dream. To transform pockets of land in deprived communities into gardens for everyone and for everyone in that community to be part of it.

Luisa finds herself in a run down seaside town in Cumbria, with some reluctance she can see what the void space could become. Meeting Cas a local teacher who in his spare time runs a boxing gym for children so they have somewhere to go, other than causing trouble she thinks maybe she can help out with the run down gym and support the rental costs if she uses it as her base. He thinks maybe his youngsters could also benefit from taking part in the community garden.

One of those youngsters is Harper, Cas has been her advocate despite the trouble she gets into. To pay off the debt she owes Cas, the deal is she has to work in the garden with Luisa. Harper is troubled, her home life is fractured, her future is looking bleak and perhaps growing something from scratch can cause new beginnings for herself.

As the main characters develop as the plot grows, we see how the prospect of the garden is the beginning, the middle and the end for them all, but it ‘s longevity is perhaps not in doubt. Even when it is threatened. The book makes your heart sing at the joy such a project can bring to an array of people, young and old. However it has its darker moments, that much can be told from the initial descriptions of the seaside town that Luísa finds herself in. Sadly a reflection of perhaps the times we live in and all readers could probably identify with elements local to them.

Along with the contrasting gloominess is the brought growth of a garden starting to flourish along with all the characters that Gosling has created.

Yet again, she has written a book which moves you, inspires and drives you on to keep reading to the end. Strong reads that have always stayed with me for a long time, and ones I recommend time and time again.

Sharon Gosling’s previous book, The Lighthouse Bookshop, was one of my top books of 2022. I adored it from start to finish so I couldn’t wait to read this new book, The Forgotten Garden. It’s another wonderful read with the themes of community, friendship and coming together to give support in the darkest of times when people need it the most. I’ll admit from the get-go that it didn’t have quite the same affect on me as The Lighthouse Bookshop and to be honest I think any book would have difficulties living up to my very high expectations after I had finished that book. But still, I really did enjoy this one as it took the reader down a path into a different sphere, that of nature and gardens and their healing power and their ability to unite people from different backgrounds and varied ages and all walks of life as they learn that through working together you can achieve anything. Nothing is easy for the characters as they go through a wide range of experiences but the fact they have to struggle to come to terms with what they are dealing with in order to try and make it through to the other side means that they are all very well written and their development and the manner in which they alter and adapt over the course of the story made this a joy to read.

Luisa MacGregor is a budding landscape architect used to standing in her boss Marianne’s shadow even though she is the one who has the best and brightest of ideas when it comes to garden design. When yet again her ideas seemed to be overshadowed by Marianne even though she knows what she has proposed would be perfect, well she reaches the end of her tether. She receives a phone call from Owen, her husband Reuben’s godfather. He is a property developer who has a piece of land that is not fit for commercial development and Owen knows that it had always been Luisa and Reuben’s idea to set up a community garden scheme. Said idea never came to fruition as Reuben passed away and Luisa has been dealing with her grief and firmly putting any of their excellent ideas firmly to the back of her mind. Luísa’s life had stalled since tragedy hit it and it never really got going again. Instead, she has just been meandering along but with this offer from Owen, is now the time for Luisa to embark upon the next stage of her life? Doing something she is passionate about and fulfilling a dream that she had long shared with Reuben.

Luisa is reluctant at first but decides to visit the site and see what potential it could have. After all, being handed such a golden opportunity she can’t just turn it down immediately and especially seen as she is tied to a job that really has no hold over her heart. Collaton, a rundown seaside town, is the location of the site which is nothing but a wasteland as it was once a former factory. The descriptions of the area are pretty gloomy and dark. It’s like the land that time forgot with nothing beautiful or inspiring about it. The surrounding area is rundown, and it appears as if it is a low-income area with trouble and strife very much run of the mill. But this plan for urban renewal makes Luisa strongly believe that she could make something wonderful for the people who already live in the area. Growing plants could change lives. Something so simple could achieve so much but that’s only if she has willing volunteers to help her and given the nature and feel of the area Luisa isn’t so sure that can be achievable, but she is willing to give it a try. She will use Reuben’s life insurance money to get the project off the ground and from this point on you can see that there is a fire and determined spirit about her that once ignited will prove challenging to quash.

Sharon Gosling introduces the reader to numerous characters apart from Luisa and they all go on to play vital roles in the overall plot and themes explored within the story. It could have been a case that there were too many characters and their stories would have become difficult to follow but instead there is a lovely, real and natural flow to everything that I felt meant everyone and every event that occurs slots in perfectly to the story. Cas runs the local gym for teenagers who have nowhere else to go. But like with everything in Collaton, he has an uphill battle to keep the gym open with a distinct lack of funds not to mention all the different problems that the teenagers have. The gym provides an outlet for them and Cas is a remarkable character. He is a teacher in the local school and has really empathy with the situations his pupils find themselves in which also really helps him when it comes to running the gym. I adored Cas as a character. To me he was just like a giant teddy bear that you would want to embrace you and have you feel that everything was going to turn out all right no matter how difficult things appeared. I admired the way he dealt with all the rage of characters and misfits that he encounters through his work at the gym. He gave them a safe space and made them feel welcome and valued and none more so than troubled teen Harper.

Harper has had to become an adult way before her time. She has to care for her younger brother Max whilst her father is an alcohol fuelled daze most of the time and at the same time try and keep up with her studies. She loves anything to do with cars and engines and it’s easy to tell there is a bright future ahead of her in this area. Nothing is specifically said about Max but I could tell from the way he was written and how Harper acted with him that he was someone who did have something that made him need to adhere to strict routines and regulations. He harbours a little secret which when it does come to the fore proved to be very heart-warming and pivotal to the overall plot. Harper loves him dearly and does her best for him but it’s not easy trying to balance school and home life when the responsibility for everything lies solely at your door. She is under enormous pressure and this came across in her gruff manner but underneath it all you can see that she does have a heart of gold. If given the chance like the flowers in the garden she would grow and flourish and turn into a wonderful person.

Cas insists as part of Harper’s community service that she must help Luisa with the garden. A tentative friendship is formed but I sensed that one wrong step from Luisa and Harper would throw up her defensive walls once again. Luisa struggles to get volunteers to help herself and Harper with the garden and the entire community seem to be against the project. There are several dark and sinister things that occur and at times the book took on a murky feeling and in a way it’s good that harsh and grim topics aren’t overlooked. Rather, they were handled in a good way that slotted in well to the overall story. It’s not all dark moments by any means more so the light outshines the gloom and Luisa keeps going with her project to show that that the garden can become addictive and therapeutic and in doing so she helps herself as well. It shows that a sense of community can be built and through people coming together a difference can be made. For all involved, Luisa, Harper, Cas and so many more they go on an inspiring and heart-warming journey that provides you with an enjoyable read that has you looking forward to the next story from this very talented author as you soon as you reach the final word

Thanks to enjoying the blog tour for Sharon Gosling’s last novel, The Lighthouse Bookshop, I was on the look out for her next. The author seems to effortlessly blend a mix of sadness, secrets, warmth and potential romance into an escapist read that’s so enjoyable. Luisa McGregor has allowed herself to become stuck. A life that once felt safe, secure and predictable is now starting to stifle Luisa and she needs more, a new challenge perhaps. Then into her lap falls great opportunity. Her friend Oliver presents a daunting, but tantalising proposition. Instead of carrying on as a gardening assistant to a woman she feels increasingly out of step with, she should check out the opportunity to build a whole new garden at a site near the Cumbrian coast. There’s a pot of money available to build a community garden on wasteland next to a community gym and youth club. Luisa agrees to visit the site and is daunted by the amount of work needed, but also inspired by what could be there. As we meet the people of this disadvantaged area of Collaton, we can see what a community garden could mean to these people. There’s teacher Cas, who is pouring all of his energy and spare time into the young people of the area. Harper is a teenager with a lot on her plate, but determined to find a way out of Collaton towards a different future. Can Luisa design a garden that brings both healing, inspiration and a stronger sense of community for the residents?

I did connect with Luisa and the position she has become stuck in. She has had to recover from the terrible trauma of losing her husband in an accident. She has dragged herself up from the darkest and most difficult days following her husband’s death, to a point where she feels she has rebuilt. She’s working in garden design, even if she doesn’t like her boss, she has a nice home and great support in her sister. Really though, she’s just treading water and terrified of stretching herself or reaching for something that she could lose. I loved the way the author shows Luisa coming alive again as she works on the new garden. She literally blooms alongside her plants and seems to gain something from working with others and passing on her skills. Without trying too hard, the garden draws in those who need it including a woman who’s been her husband’s carer since an accident paralysed him. He’s initially sceptical and annoyed that his wife’s attention has been captured by Luisa’s plans, but just a few hours a week gaining respite from her caring role has transformed her. It’s not long before he’s creating bespoke benches for the garden, adapting his joinery skills to his disability. Harper is a character who stands out as a young girl brimming with potential, but struggling to escape the difficult circumstances of her life. She is the main caregiver for her younger brother, now that their mum has died and their father has escaped into the bottle. Harper has a skill for mechanics, engineering and invention. She spends her spare time either at the club with Cas or helping at the local garage where she’s doing up a battered old Mini that Cas has gifted to her. Harper’s story shows us how hard it can be for someone to escape where they live and their family circumstances. Her cousin Darren is out of prison and is back dealing drugs in the area again, Harper is devastated when he preys upon her younger brother, Max. Max is easily influenced, especially when it comes to friendships. He struggles to make friends and has been subjected to bullying, so when someone older and seemingly cool pays him attention it’s an easy conquest. Darren wants him as a drug runner or lookout, but Harper puts her foot down and offers herself up instead. I was on tenterhooks, knowing that this decision would have consequences in the future.

There are a few powerful scenes that really stand out. Max has a secret that he’s been working on in Harper’s absence, inspired by the garden and when it was unveiled I almost held my breath. I loved the idea for his garden and the description was so lush and vivid I could almost smell the vegetation and feel the warmth. I could imagine sitting there, early on a sunny morning and enjoying a coffee. I also kept thinking what an incredible wedding venue it would be. It’s clear as soon as Cas and Luisa meet that there is potential for romance, but I wondered if both of them were too hurt by their pasts to take the chance. I was sure it needed a catalyst and the author certainly gives us one. The scene where Darren’s thugs get into the garden was heartbreaking and heart-stopping. I could actually feel the fear of the volunteers and residents as Darren shows his true colours and the reputation he’s trying to create for himself in the community. However, they don’t expect to be challenged, with devastating results. I was rooting for Cas and Luisa, with their endeavours in the community and their potential romance too. I read to the end quickly, determined to see the garden succeed and whether Luisa would overcome her fear of love and inevitable loss. I took the book on holiday with me and it was an enjoyable and emotional read, with an ending that was truly satisfying.

I must say I am a bit of a fan of Sharon Gosling (thanks to NetGalley) and this one I enjoyed as much as the last one I read. This is a story of passion for something you love, community, support and friendship.

Luisa MacGregor is a great character and someone that is strong and determined to get a job done, a job/project that can only be good for the community. Of course some people don't see it that way. A seaside town, great characters, lovely descriptiveness and a story that warms the cockles of your heart.

I enjoyed this book and just couldn't put it down. It took my into the world of this community and the gardens that would help those who needed help and support. It is emotional, friendly, at times annoying (the people not the story!) and heartwarming..

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster UK for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. I really enjoyed it.

I loved this book. The story of how a community garden comes good after many set backs. Love stories going on in the background. I loved Harper and her brother who saved the day in the most unimaginable way. Luisa is getting over the death of her husband and Mr P in the gym certainly seems to help. Yes there are setbacks but it’s a glorious book and I’d thoroughly recommend it

I loved this book, I read it in two sittings as I had to find out what happened! I love the themes of friendship and community that run throughout this book. The characters are so well written and as always with this author you have an instant affinity with the main character, in this case Luisa McGregor. A definite 5 star review from me.

I don’t usually read this type of book genre. However I was really drawn into Sharon’s writing. The characters were well rounded and developed well as the story progressed.
I particularly loved the character of Harper .Whilst the book didn’t shy away from the difficulties of life it was also a joyous experience of communities coming together to support one another.
I will definitely be reading more by this author and can highly recommend this book as an enjoyable read.

This is the first novel I've read by Sharon Gosling and it was a really good read. I downloaded it for my holiday and started reading it on the plane - then couldn't quite put it down.
Luisa has been stuck in an emotional and professional rut ever since the death of her young husband, over a decade ago. But when a phone call out of the blue jolts her into reality she decides to take a risk and embark on a community garden design project in a run-down, underprivileged area of the Lake District. It's there she meets Cas - a PE teacher with a big heart running a boxing gym for local teenagers - and Harper, a brilliant yet spiky teenage girl trying to dig herself out of trouble.

She must overcome the objections of the harsh community and her own refusal to confront the demons in her past. As the garden blossoms she finds heart is ready to love again but her head doesn't want to let her. Luisa's renewal of her career and emotions keeps the book pacy and as a reader, we want her to move out of the hurt she's been stuck in.

The ending was the only thing in the book that felt like a bit of a let down for me - I won't go into details here due to spoilers but otherwise I would have given it 5 stars! Many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an early release copy in exchange for an honest review.

A lovely, comfortable read with relatable characters. Good to have a different subject i.e. gardening to read about.

Another excellent book by Sharon Gosling. Thought provoking about the dangers facing young people.. Tackles many issues but is ultimately an uplifting read. Love how the community garden is at the centre of the story.

Women’s fiction with a touch of grit! I loved the fact that this story was firmly rooted in the real Cumbria rather than the twee Lake District setting we see so often in books. The author didn’t shy away from facing the harsh reality of life in run down towns, and the difficult decisions people sometimes have to take to survive. Against this background, I found the story of the community garden to be uplifting and absorbing. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

The plot

Our story opens with our lead character, Louis MacGregor, looking out over the Austen-like grounds of Feldspar Hall, a stately home. She accompanies her boss Marianne, a self-serving lady who heads up Boswell Garden Architecture. Luisa loves gardens and plants and has created some impressive ideas, which she sketched on her iPad. It is a pad that her boss takes from her when Caroline, the stately home's owner, takes delight in the colour scheme and a hidden bower. They are all Luisa's ideas, but Marianne presents them as hers. It is a life she has gotten used to, hiding her own gardening training and talent away to avoid the pain of better, happier days and a marriage that ended with the death of Reuben, her husband, in a climbing accident.

When Luisa returns to the small townhouse in Carlisle she shares with her soon-to-be-wed younger sister, Jo, she reveals she has had a telephone call from Reuban's Godfather, Owen.

Owen cares for Luisa and is cognisant of the project she and Reuben wanted to undertake to create a community garden scheme before he died. When he finds he has acquired a block of worthless wasteland in a company acquisition, it seems the perfect chance to kick the long-buried project into action and raise Luisa from her self-imposed drudgery.

The idea seems to end when Luisa declines, not wishing to open old memories and wounds. But, after a rather curt demand from her boss, and with a bit of persuasion from Jo that she really should go; after all, what harm could it do, plus it could be the galvanizing she needs to break away from Marianne, Luisa heads for the derelict land that could be the home of a new community project.

When she arrives at Collaton, a town on the Cumbrian west coast, it is a bleak and wintery wet day. The town was never a tourist attraction. Even in its heyday, it merely served as a place to house the workers of refineries and shipyards nearby. Now, with boarded-up shops and closed pub, it was little more than a ghost town, and the people survived as best they could in a community without a centre. But no, I take that back, for amid the slow urban decay, one man was trying to bring hope to the town's youngsters. Casimir Pattanyús, Cas to his pals, a teacher by day, runs a boxing club for the kids in the evenings. With only his wage to run the place, it seems there is little hope that the spirit the club engenders will survive another year.

When Luisa's borrowed car gets a puncture in the gloom, it is Cas and 17-year-old Harper, a bright lass with an attitude, come to her rescue. Well, it is Harper who, with a skill for all things mechanical, gets to change the tyre.

Now, behind the scenes, Harper lives with her 9-year-old brother, Max. A brighter lad you could never hope to meet. He doesn't really mix with others and has a single-minded focus on his latest hobby. But his current passion of gardening, and lack of understanding, get him into trouble with the neighbour from whom he'd been taking some fresh bedding plants and compost. She is understanding, but it is wearing thin. Luisa also manages to stop the police from being called when Max tries to take a gardening magazine from the newsagent. It said 'FREE' on the cover. To Max, this means the whole magazine is free; else, why would they say it? But of course, the 'free' is related to the gift on the outside and not the magazine.

With a drunk father at home, who clearly doesn't understand Max, Harper looks after her brother and cooks and cares. Given the reputation she has, nobody dares tease or bully Max. Doing her A-Level exams and trying to work part-time at the gym, and at a local garage to earn the money they need to get by is tough. But Harper has the grit to match her determination. Never more so when it comes to protecting Max from the nastiness that is the world outside his own.

But there is a downside: she has had to steal small things to help Max. It has got her into trouble, and she is only saved by Cas stepping in to convince the shops she pinched marker pens for Max from that community service at the gym was way better than the police. If the authorities found out about the situation at home, they would be split up. Now that is a heap load of pressure.

When Luisa sees in her mind that Reuben would have taken the plunge, she resigns from Marianne's employ and takes Owen up on his offer. They will try for six months. If the garden project fails, Owen, who has many contacts far and wide, will ensure Luisa gets a job. It really is a win-win. Better yet, she can finally put Reuben's insurance money into a project they both wanted to create and not just leave it languishing in a bank account. What better way to honour his memory?

What Luisa needs is to get the garden up and running. A community project first needs the community to come together, see the worth of what is to be achieved, and then get involved. With Harper as an unwilling helper to work off her community service hours on the project, they make a start.

Now, no story would be complete without a villain. This story's villain comes in the form of one Darren Dixon, recently out of prison and thinking he can make a name for himself for nefarious acts like selling drugs. He is also Harper's cousin and her enemy for trying it on with her. Worse, he has a grudge against Casimir and is determined to get even, one way or another.

When Darren and his posse of wannabe small-town thugs make a grand entry at the gym where Luisa is holding a meeting to push the garden idea, he and Cas have a standoff. It seems like hollow bravado especially given Cas is still built like the boxer he once was. But the stink of trouble Darren brings is enough to send the few interested townsfolk scattering, and with them, any hope of help goes.

With the main characters assembled, this is where the story takes off. Harper has to make a decision that ultimately spirals out of control. Other characters, too, make choices, the end of which could destroy them or be their making. One thing is certain: come the end of one night not far from this point, nobody in Collaton will ever be the same.

OK, so I can't really say much more. Suffice it to say we were gripped and not disappointed. As Mrs H wanted me to say, "the pleasure and devil are in the plot weaving to date and what follows." Whether the community ultimately pull together and the garden built, is for you all to discover. . . .

So, what did we think?

A book beautifully grounded in real-life situations, reflections of what is and could be, and things most of us will have seen or experienced wherever we may live.

Heartfelt and written with a sense of credibility, person and place. It is good to see disabled representation, too, for a key player. Sharon's gardening passion is quite evident in the text, adding a palpable flavour.

The beauty of this book for us was, whilst we don't do romantic fiction as a rule, there is so much more going on that the story takes on a larger vista driven by the subplots of Max, Harper, Casimir, and Luisa, which all came together beautifully and dramatically towards the end. And the final chapter is not what I expected either, which is always a pleasant surprise. Mrs H said she had an inkling of things that might happen later when the adventure entered the town's scrap yard, but that was all.

So . . . . Crunch time.

This fun, easy read enthraled and captured our senses immediately. Like 'The Lighthouse Bookshop', Sharon's previous and second novel we reviewed last year has the same compelling storytelling air.

Not to put any pressure on Sharon's busy schedule, but I can't wait for the next tale, whatever it may be.

I loved this story, this was a new author for me but I will look forward to reading more of her work.
A beautiful uplifting story full of hope and redemption. Highly recommended. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book

This was a moving story . Some very on trend story lines which also made you sad. The main character Lusia had lost her way and her husbands god father gave her a wake up call and a helping hand… The community garden was amazing . I loved the plant a potato idea. Max was so sweet. You did wonder why school did not pick him up. The father was unbelievable . There are some really strong characters . I loved Harper and her story moved you. Would have liked a slightly different ending but that was me. A jolly good read. Made you think

A real feel good story of regeneration of a place and of Luisa MacGregor, the heroine of the book.
Luisa is sacked from her job, one where she cannot use her skill and talent and her boss takes the honour for herself. Finding herself at a loss for something to do Luisa accepts an offer from her late husband's family to start a garden in the run down town of Collaton on the west Cumbrian coast. The idea was originally a dream of her husband's and initially Luisa feels out of her depth especially as her ideas meet with opposition and derision from the locals. However with the help of Cas, who runs a boxing club for kids after school, and then with the help of the kids themselves they manage to create something the town can feels proud of. Working with the plants, encouraging them into life and rebuilding the waste ground where the garden in sited brings life back to Luisa too, and she realises that she's only been existing for a long time.
Things appear to be going well until... well, that would give away the ending.
The main characters are well developed and all grow as the story progresses. It is a story of hope and fulfilment bound together with lots of garden details as the plants grown and garden flourishes.
With thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the arc copy in return for an honest review.